Dear host family and school for my exchange year abroad,

I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Greta, I’m from Germany and I’m truly excited about the opportunity of becoming a part of your family during my time abroad. I also want to express my interest in joining your school as an exchange student. Let me introduce myself and share a bit about who I am. Right now I’m in 10th grade at my local school and looking forward to doing my exchange next school year when I'm in 11th grade. 

I put a lot of effort into doing my homework conscientiously and spend rather much time studying for my exams. I enjoy spending time alone to relax. Then I like to bake for my family and do handicrafts. But I also like to get active. In my free time I regularly go to the gym with one of my friends. Additionally I recently started training at a soccer club. In general I’m really passionate about trying out new things to get to know me better. As you’ve read I enjoy spending time with my friends. We always have something to laugh about, but are also able to talk about serious matters, when anything is wrong. Luckily we don’t have arguments often, but if we do, we are all great at finding solutions that sit right with everyone, which is really important to me.

I live with my mom, dad and my three siblings in a rather small village. I am the eldest of my siblings: I have two younger brothers and a sister who is the youngest. That's why I’ve learned to take on responsibility. The relationship I have with them as well as with my parents is really close, which is something I’m extremely grateful for.

We all live in a big house with a big garden and everyone has their own bedroom. I really like to play with my brothers in our garden and enjoy taking a break in our (rather small) pool. My little sister and I often do things together, like crafting, playing with her minifigure horses or go inline skating. Sometimes on the weekends my family and I go on little trips to enjoy the nature and go hiking or visit a local museum. To my parents it’s really important to have at least one meal a day where we all come together and talk about our day. I would describe our family life as self-determined and independent. Everyone is responsible for themselves, but I still have the feeling of being in a very protected environment. My siblings and I also have to do chores around the house like setting the table, vacuuming or loading the dishwasher. Sometimes when my family is eating something non-vegetarian I cook for myself because I don’t eat any meat or fish. When I’m abroad I wouldn’t have any problems with cooking meals for myself. With my mom's side of my family I have a really close relationship. My grandparents visit us frequently because they live nearby. With my dad's side of the family I don’t have that much of a close relationship but we try to see each other at least once a year.

I am really thankful for the village where I live. Here we have different stores, supermarkets and restaurants. I appreciate that my school is nearby so I can walk there with one of my friends. School usually lasts until 4 pm. Lunch is served in the canteen. We have a good class association and I was elected as class representative because I handle my tasks very responsibly. My favorite subjects are Math, History and Politics. I am very ambitious in school matters and also help younger students to improve their grades when tutoring them. Additionally, I lead an after school club and have been chosen to be a mentor for younger kids at my school to help them orientate themselves and answer their questions.

The reason why I want to do an exchange year is because I want to grow out of my comfort zone and to become more independent. I want to make new friendships and get to know the culture in a different country. In addition to that I want to experience how the daily life of kids my age is like in a different country. Furthermore, I want to improve my English skills in writing but also speaking. I’m not really sure what to do for a living after school but by now my goals is to graduate with a high grade. After school I might plan to do another year abroad and then come back to study in Germany.

I’m looking forward to my year abroad and perhaps become a part of your family and the school community.

Kind regards Greta

 

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